Method of forming a clock case



Jul zo, 1937. R EY 2,087,698

METHOD OF FORMING A CLOCK CASE Filed Feb. 27, 1936 Patented July 20, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to a method of forming clock casings and more particularly to clock casings formed from an integral sheet of metal.

The invention is illustrated in the drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a clock casing before folding into position; Fig. 2 is a similar view of a formed casing; Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a similar section of a modified device.

As shown in Fig. 1, a sheet of metal Ill is decorated and then is cut into a square with notched corners providing flaps II.

The decoration of the sheet before embossing and while it is still flat makes it possible to apply any suitable decoration with great rapidity and very cheaply. Thus, many of the cheaper forms of decoration, for example, lithography, may be applied readily to the flat metal, whereas these methods of decoration would not be applicable at all or only with great difficulty and expense to an embossed casing.

Following the lithographing or other decoration, the offset portion [2 is embossed out of the flat sheet. The corners are then preferably notched out, the sides l8 folded down to form a box and the corners riveted together with rivets l3.

The clock movement I7, which is preferably an electrical movement, is then fastened to the case through the openings l4 and the hands l6 fastened thereto in the usual manner.

The offset section 12, which provides a setting for the dial, at the same time also provides a pleasing optical effect, particularly at a slight distance. Thus, with a clock 14 square, for example, with an offset section 11 /2" in diameter,

when viewed from a few feet away, the clock will present an excellent appearance, with no indication of the inexpensive structure thereof.

At the same time, the offset section lends additional strength to the face of the casing and prevents the customary warping and buckling which is incidental to the ordinary use of thin sheet metal material.

In certain instances it may be desirable to offset the section 52 inwardly, or, as shown in Fig. 4, to provide a section l5 offset in the opposite direction to provide a depression within which the hands can rotate.

In either event the offset portion provides an anchor upon which glass-holding means such as a bezel may be mounted.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claim should be construed as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

I claim:

The method of forming a decorated clock casing which comprises lithographing a flat sheet of metal with clock decorations including a dial, embossing the sheet about the dial to produce an offset dial portion with a minimum distortion of the lithographed finish, said decoration including a line simulating a bezel line within the offset dial portion, cutting the sheet to provide a box form including a face, four sides and an overlap for each side, bending the cut sheet to form a clock casing, and fastening the overlaps to form a complete unitary decorated clock casing.

RAYMOND MOONEY. 

